December 23, 2012

The Israel-Palestine Conflict: A Matter of Peace or War?

“Let us, on this International Day, reaffirm our commitment to translating ‎solidarity into positive action. The international community must help steer the situation ‎towards a historic peace agreement.‎” That is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, 29 November 2011.

Mr. Ban called on the Israeli and Palestinian leadership to show courage and determination to seek an agreement for a two-State solution that can open up a brighter future for Palestinian and Israeli children.

There have been many Middle East peace proposals and many negotiations including an Arab state, with or without a significant Jewish population, a Jewish state, with or without a significant Arab population, a single bi-national state, with or without some degree of cantonization, two states, one bi-national and one Arab, with or without some form of federation, and two states, one Jewish and one Arab, with or without some form of federation.

During the 19th Century some Jews banded together to form a political ideology called Zionism, based on the idea of a “Jewish homeland.” In the USA the Zionist movement developed a powerful political lobby to promote its aims, while its military groups pursued a violent terrorist campaign in Palestine against the Arabs and Britain to force acceptance of its demands.

On 29 November 1947 the United Nations adopted a partition resolution dividing the land of Palestine into two independent states- one Arab and one Jewish, while Jerusalem was put under international protection. This was accepted by most of the Jewish settlers, who comprised 13% of the population and rejected by the majority Arab population, the original inhabitants who demanded self–determination. The British said the decision would be a failure and refused to apply it. When British forces withdrew in May 1948, and Israel declared independence fighting broke out between Arabs and Jews.

One of the first plans for settling the Arab-Israel war of 1948 was made by the UN emissary, Count Folke Bernadotte. Count Folke Bernadotte was a Swedish noble and diplomat, nephew of the Swedish king, fluent in six languages; he was an outstanding humanitarian and very well respected for his integrity. He gained international recognition through his work as head of the Swedish Red Cross during World War Two, organizing exchanges of disabled prisoners. Bernadotte also used his position to negotiate with Heinrich Himmler, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party, and save the lives of about 30,000 Jews, Allied prisoners of war and other people from the concentration camps, just before the end of the war.

Count Folke Bernadotte

On 20th May, 1948, the United Nations Security Council appointed Bernadotte as mediator in the Arab-Jewish conflict in Palestine. After meeting Arab and Jewish leaders he succeeded in obtaining a 30-day truce that began on 11th June. In then developed his first plan for peace.

First Proposal

Bernadotte’s first plan called for the Jewish State to relinquish the Negev and Jerusalem to Transjordan and to receive the western Galilee. Bernadotte advocated a total demilitarization of Jerusalem and blamed the Jewish forces for “aggressive” behavior in the city.

The Arab world rejected the Bernadotte plan on the grounds that, as Syrian officer Muhammad Nimr al-Khatib said, “Most of these mediators are spies for the Jews anyway.” The Israeli government, hating the idea of giving up Jerusalem and bent on military victory, quickly followed suit. Fighting resumed on July 8 and the Israeli army gained strength and succeeded in pushing back the Arabs until a second UN cease-fire was declared on July 18, this time with no time limit and a threat of economic sanctions against any country that broke it.

After the unsuccessful first proposal, Bernadotte continued with a more complex proposal that abandoned the idea of a Union and proposed two independent states. Having witnessed the expulsion of the Palestinians from their home, he called for the unqualified return of all Palestinian refugees expelled as a result of the conflict. He declared:

“The right of innocent people, uprooted from their homes by the present terror and ravages of war, to return to their homes, should be affirmed and made effective, with assurance of adequate compensation for the property of those who may choose not to return…. [N]o settlement can be just and complete if recognition is not accorded to the right of the Arab refugee to return to the home from which he has been dislodged. It will be an offence against the principles of elemental justice if these innocent victims of the conflict were denied the right of return to their homes while Jewish immigrants flow into Palestine…”

The Palestinian People

Second Proposal

This proposal was completed on September 16, 1948 and it contained what he described as “seven basic premises” regarding the situation in Palestine:

  1. Peace must return to Palestine and every feasible measure should be taken to ensure that hostilities will not be resumed and that harmonious relations between Arab and Jew will ultimately be restored.
  2. A Jewish State called Israel exists in Palestine and there are no sound reasons for assuming that it will not continue to do so.
  3. The boundaries of this new State must finally be fixed either by formal agreement between the parties concerned or failing that, by the United Nations.
  4. Adherence to the principle of geographical homogeneity and integration, which should be the major objective of the boundary arrangements, should apply equally to Arab and Jewish territories, whose frontiers should not therefore, be rigidly controlled by the territorial arrangements envisaged in the resolution of 29 November.
  5. The right of innocent people, uprooted from their homes by the present terror and ravages of war, to return to their homes, should be affirmed and made effective, with assurance of adequate compensation for the property of those who may choose not to return.
  6. The City of Jerusalem, because of its religious and international significance and the complexity of interests involved, should be accorded special and separate treatment.
  7. International responsibility should be expressed where desirable and necessary in the form of international guarantees, as a means of allaying existing fears, and particularly with regard to boundaries and human rights.

On 17 September 1948, the day after he submitted his progress report to the UN, a four-man team of the Jewish nationalist Zionist group Lehi (commonly known as the Stern Gang or Stern Group) ambushed Bernadotte’s motorcade in Jerusalem’s Katamon neighborhood.

The four hit men were, in fact, Stern Gang members consisting of three gunmen and a driver. The three gunmen were Yitzhak Ben-Moshe, “Gingi” Zinger, and Yehoshua Cohen. Cohen was the shooter who murdered Bernadotte. The fourth member of the hit team, the jeep driver, was Meshulam Makover.

The Assassination of Count Bernadotte

Of the three Stern Gang leaders who dispatched the killers, Israel Eldad, Natan Yalin-Mor and Yitzhak Shamir, only Yalon-Mor was brought to trial along with one gang member, Mattiyahu Shmulovitz. They were not charged with Bernadotte’s murder but with membership in a terrorist organization. Following their conviction Yalon-Mor and Shmulovitz were pardoned under a general amnesty ordered by Ben-Gurion after serving only two weeks in jail.

Based upon events in Israel following Bernadotte’s assassination it is apparent that being a member of the Stern Gang was not blight on one’s good name but a career-enhancing credential. For example, Natan Yalin-Mor was elected to a seat in the First Knesset, the Israeli parliament. The shooter, Yehoshua Cohen, became Ben-Gurion’s personal bodyguard. In 1983, Yitzhak Shamir succeeded Menachem Begin as Prime Minister.

From 1948 through to the present day, the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is ongoing. After all these years, the only unanswerable question is the one that was asked by Bertrand Russell in his message to the International Conference of Parliamentarians held in February 1970:

The tragedy of the people of Palestine is that their country was ‘given’ by a foreign power to another people for the creation of a new state. The result was that many hundreds of thousands of innocent people were made permanently homeless. With every new conflict their numbers increased.

How much longer is the world willing to endure this spectacle of wanton cruelty?

It is abundantly clear that the refugees have every right to the homeland from which they were driven, and the denial of this right is at the heart of the continuing conflict.

Sources:

https://www.1948.org.uk/right-of-return/

https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/un/solidarity-day-palestinian-people

https://www.soschildrensvillages.ca/News/News/child-charity-news/Pages/International-Solidarity-Palestinian-749.aspx

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposals_for_a_Palestinian_state

https://www.zionism-israel.com/dic/Bernadotte_Plan.htm

https://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/COLDbernadotte.htm

https://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/49384

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/folke.html

https://suspiciousdeaths.blogspot.com/2010/06/count-folke-bernadotte.html

Iceland Formally Recognises Palestinian State

By Marco Longari

Iceland formally recognised the Palestinian state at a ceremony in Reykjavik on Thursday, becoming one of the first Western European countries to do so.

“This is the day I formally submit to you the declaration of Palestine independence in accordance to the will of the Icelandic parliament,” Icelandic Foreign Minister Oessur Skarphedinsson said, addressing his Palestinian counterpart Riad Malki at a news conference.

 

 

Source: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/iceland-formally-recognises-palestinian-state-114410483.html;_ylt=AuHsqNAWA8F_kPi4Tgs4BX_OfMl_;_ylu=X3oDMTNxZWk3YjhlBG1pdANUb3BTdG9yeSBXb3JsZFNGBHBrZwMxNzlhODQyOS1kZTE0LTM3YmItYTVhYy0zNjQwM2Q2M2IyMGYEcG9zAzgEc2VjA3RvcF9zdG9yeQR2ZXIDNTAzMGRlMjAtMjcxMi0xMWUxLTg3N2QtY2RjNDhiYzg5YTBi;_ylg=X3oDMTFwcGsyZXJqBGludGwDZ2IEbGFuZwNlbi1nYgRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAN3b3JsZARwdANzZWN0aW9ucwR0ZXN0Aw-;_ylv=3

Gingrich: Disturbing Racist Rant

By Linda Heard

Gingrich’s statements would be outrageous coming from the mouth of Joe Ordinary let alone a man who aspires to become the leader of the world’s wealthiest and most militarily powerful nation that takes on the role of the world’s policeman.

Have you ever looked at someone in a high position only to wonder how on earth they got their job let alone managed to hold onto for so long? The Republican Party’s front-running presidential candidate is a glaring example of such a person. Newt Gingrich is a seasoned politician and former speaker of the US House of Representatives. He has authored 23 books and was named “Man of the Year” by Time Magazine. He is also no stranger to scandal.

He was reprimanded by the House for ethics violations and ironically was having an affair with one of his staffers even as he was investigating President Bill Clinton for deception over his involvement with Monica Lewinsky. However, judging by his popularity within the US, Gingrich clearly has the luck of the Irish, his reputation unscathed.

Whatever good he may have achieved within US domestic politics pales in comparison to his recent rant during a candidate debate when he slandered the Palestinians en masse. Masquerading as someone who has “the courage to tell the truth”, he has dubbed the Palestinians as an “invented people who are, in fact, Arabs.” “Remember there was no Palestine as a state. It was part of the Ottoman Empire,” he asserted.

In fact, Palestine was referred to by Herodotus in the 5th Century BCE as “Palaestina”, a land stretching from Pheonicia to Egypt, while during the 2nd century CE, the word “Palestine” appeared on coins and in rabbinical writings. The Palestinians have far more claim to be a cohesive, indigenous people than most Americans. Gingrich himself is part German, English, Scottish and Irish.

To add insult to injury, Gingrich went on to characterize Palestinians as “terrorists.” “These people are terrorists,” he said. “They teach terrorism in their schools…we pay for those textbooks through our aid money.” He neglected to mention that one man’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter or that Israeli textbooks paint Arabs as losers, thugs and thieves and argue for war as a means of protecting the Jewish state.

Gingrich’s statements would be outrageous coming from the mouth of Joe Ordinary let alone a man who aspires to become the leader of the world’s wealthiest and most militarily powerful nation that takes on the role of the world’s policeman. He has attacked the very identity of millions of Palestinians on the West Bank, in Gaza, and throughout the Diaspora and has stuck a terrorist label on every single Palestinian man, woman and child. And in reward for his racist comments, he received warm applause from the audience.

Just imagine the reaction should a would-be president or prime minister anywhere in the Western world make the claim that Jews are an invented people and all Jews are terrorists! I’ll bet my home that such a lunatic would be kicked out of his party and, in some countries, might even be taken to court on the charges of anti-Semitism, defamation of character, and/or racial incitement. Indeed, Gingrich sounds more like a spokesman for British National Party (BNP) or Germany’s Neo-Nazi Party than the wannabe leader of the so-called free world.

Actually, when the anti-Semitic slur is already being thrown at US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the US Ambassador to Belgium Howard Gutman for daring to justly criticize Israel’s policies, no imagination is needed.

Panetta simply told Israel to get back to the peace table and mend fences with Egypt, Jordan and Turkey. Clinton said she was concerned about the state of democracy in Israel in light of new laws that would gag the media and strip foreign funding from NGOs that help Palestinians, as well as the segregation of females on some buses. All Gutman did was to suggest that a distinction should be made between traditional anti-Semitism “which should be condemned” and “Muslims’ hatred for Jews, stemming from the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.”

If there’s anything incorrect in Gutman’s message it’s that Muslims do not hate Jews whom they recognize as one of the respected “Peoples of the Book”; their anger is directed at Zionists who drove an indigenous population from their homes and have lorded over an occupied people for over 60 years using the point of a gun.

Gingrich is either so ignorant that he’s unfit for the top job or way too reckless. In one fell swoop, he’s managed to alienate the entire Arab world, which, in case he hasn’t noticed, is the guardian of much of the planet’s oil reserves and controls strategic waterways linking Europe to Asia. Moreover, his remark is sheer stupidity when anti-Americanism in North Africa and the Middle East is rife.

If Republicans tilt their cap at Gingrich and he succeeds in ousting President Obama, the US will have no role in any peace process as a Gingrich White House will have lost what little credibility remains of its former “honest broker” status. Gingrich has either bought into the propagandist Israeli narrative, hook, line and sinker, or he’s deviously out to grab the Jewish and Christian Zionist vote.

Whether he’s been hopelessly indoctrinated by one side, is ignorant of historical facts or is craftily playing to Israel’s American friends, he is clearly unfit. In the event that he means what he says, he would do well to read,“Breakthrough: Transforming Fear into Compassion” by Jewish author Richard Forer, who was staunchly pro-Israel and fiercely anti-Arab for most of his life until he was persuaded by a friend to undertake independent historical research. After reading a book that opened his eyes, he devoured library books on the Middle East and traveled to the West Bank to see the plight of Palestinians for himself. He always told the Palestinians he met that he was Jewish and says they didn’t bat an eyelid; on the contrary, they were warm and welcoming. It was first-hand knowledge that caused Forer to U-turn and step into Palestinian shoes.

Ignorance is one of humankind’s greatest evils, but that kind of evil takes on a greater power when wielded by a person with the world’s most sophisticated nuclear-armed military at his disposal. Now that Newt Gingrich has showed his true colors, I only hope Republican America will be educated enough and wise enough to give his incendiary opinions short shrift before the Doomsday Clock is pushed forward once again.

 

Search: https://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/12/13/gingrich-disturbing-racist-rant/

Netanyahu Boasting About Manipulating America And Derailing Oslo Peace Process [Subtitles]

In 2001 Netenyahu was talking to a family in the West Bank settlement of Ofra.

While he thought the cameras weren’t running he let his true colours really shine through and boasted about derailing the Oslo peace process, described American foreign policy as easily manipulated and said the only way to deal with the Palestinians was “beat them up, not once but repeatedly, beat them up so it hurts so badly, until it’s unbearable

Gingrich Calls Palestinians ‘Invented’ People

Republican White House hopeful Newt Gingrich has stirred controversy by calling the Palestinians an “invented” people who could have chosen to live elsewhere.

The former House of Representatives speaker, who is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for the 2012 presidential race, made the remarks in an interview with the US Jewish Channel broadcaster released on Friday.

Asked whether he considers himself a Zionist, he answered: “I believe that the Jewish people have the right to a state … Remember, there was no Palestine as a state. It was part of the Ottoman Empire” until the early 20th century,

“I think that we’ve had an invented Palestinian people who are in fact Arabs, and who were historically part of the Arab community.

“And they had a chance to go many places, and for a variety of political reasons we have sustained this war against Israel now since the 1940s, and it’s tragic.”

Most historians mark the start of Palestinian Arab nationalist sentiment in 1834, when Arab residents of the Palestinian region revolted against Ottoman rule.

Israel, founded amid the 1948 Arab-Israel war, took shape along the lines of a 1947 UN plan for ethnic partition of the then-British ruled territory of Palestine which Arabs rejected.

More than 700,000 Palestinians were forced from their lands by Zionist armed groups in 1948, in an episode Palestinians refer to as the Nakba or “catastrophe”.

‘Irrational Hostility’

Gingrich’s comments drew a swift rebuke from a spokesman for the American Task Force on Palestine, Hussein Ibish, who said: “There was no Israel and no such thing as an “Israeli people” before 1948.

“So the idea that Palestinians are ‘an invented people’ while Israelis somehow are not is historically indefensible and inaccurate.

“Such statements seem to merely reflect deep historical ignorance and an irrational hostility towards Palestinian identity and nationalism.”

Sabri Saidam, adviser to the Palestinian president, told Al Jazeera, “This is a manifestation of extreme racism and this is a reflection of where America stands sad, when Palestinians don’t get their rights…this is sad and America should respond with a firm reaction to such comments that, if let go, more of which will come our way,”

“Let me ask Newt Gingrich if he would ever entertain the thought of addressing Indian Americans by saying that they never existed, that they were the invention of a separate nation, would that be tolerated?”

“Let’s also reverse the statement; let’s put ourselves in “the shoe of Jews who are listening now. Would they ever accept such statements being made about them?”

Saidam said, “I think it’s time that America rejects such statements and closes the door to such horrendous and unacceptable statements.”

Gingrich also sharply criticised US President Barack Obama’s approach to Middle East diplomacy, saying that it was ”so out of touch with reality that it would be like taking your child to the zoo and explaining that a lion was a bunny rabbit.”

He said Obama’s effort to treat the Palestinians the same as the Israelis is actually “favouring the terrorists”.

“If I’m even-handed between a civilian democracy that obeys the rule of law and a group of terrorists that are firing missiles every day, that’s not even-handed, that’s favouring the terrorists,” he said.

He also said the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, share an “enormous desire to destroy Israel”.

The Palestinian Authority, which rules the occupied West Bank, formally recognises Israel’s right to exist.

President Mahmoud Abbas has long forsworn violence against Israel as a means to secure an independent state, pinning his hopes first on negotiations and more recently on a unilateral bid for statehood via the UN.

Gingrich, along with other Republican candidates, are seeking to attract Jewish in the US support by vowing to bolster Washington’s ties with Israel if elected.

He declared his world view was “pretty close” to that of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and vowed to take “a much more tougher-minded, and much more honest approach to the Middle East” if elected.

 

Source: https://www.readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/8830-focus-gingrich-calls-palestinians-invented-people

 

Palestinian PM: Israeli Sanctions Starting To Bite

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Israeli economic sanctions against the Palestinians, in retaliation for their bid to win world recognition of a state of Palestine, have started to bite: officials said Sunday that they won’t be able to pay the next round of public sector salaries that support nearly one-third of Palestinians, and that the damage to a fragile economy is devastating.

Critics say Israel isn’t entitled to impound funds it collects on behalf of the Palestinians, some $100 million monthly of customs charges and other taxes which form nearly two-thirds of the local revenue of the West Bank-based government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

They also argue that withholding the funds is short-sighted, because it fans anti-Israel resentment and weakens the moderate Abbas, whose security services — funded by these payments — have been lauded by Israel for successfully preventing attacks on its civilians by militants.

Israel says freezing the money is intended as a warning to Abbas, but that the measure could turn permanent if he decides to form a unity government with his long-standing rival, the Islamic militant Hamas movement that has ruled the Gaza Strip since a violent takeover in 2007. Such a unity government was to have been formed ahead of Palestinian elections next May, but some Palestinian officials suggest it’s off the table for now.

Israel started suspending the funds last month in response to the Palestinians’ success in gaining admission to the United Nations’ cultural agency UNESCO, which was part of a larger effort to gain recognition as a state in the world body. Israel says a Palestinian state should be established through negotiations and accuses the Palestinians of acting unilaterally to bypass peace talks.

The suspension comes at a time of a growing cash crisis in Abbas’ Palestinian Authority, with foreign donors falling several hundred million dollars short of the nearly $1 billion in support sought this year. The Palestinians had a proposed budget of $3.2 billion for 2011, including $1.7 billion needed to cover the government payroll.

Abbas’ prime minister, Salam Fayyad, said Sunday that he won’t be able to pay upcoming salaries, which are due in the first week of December. He said the continued suspension of the tax transfers “has both an immediate impact on the lives of all employees and their dependents, some 1 million people … (and) has a devastating indirect impact throughout the whole economy.”

Economics Minister Hassan Abu Libdeh told The Associated Press that the government has already reached its limit of what it can borrow from banks to make the payroll — nearly $1.2 billion so far. He said the cash crunch not only disrupts salary payments, but also government services.

“This is going to have a very dangerous impact because it stops the Palestinian Authority from functioning,” Abu Libdeh said. “The international community should be fully aware that this is very counterproductive.”

Top diplomats, including U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, have urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to release the funds, so far to no avail. Israeli governments have temporarily suspended the tax transfers in the past, but usually restored them after a few months of international pressure.

The collection of the funds by Israel is part of interim peace agreements of the 1990s. Among the funds collected, for a fee paid by the Palestinians, are customs duties and value-added tax on imports that come through Israeli ports but end up in the Palestinian areas. Israel also turns over to the Palestinian Authority a significant portion of money held from the paychecks of Palestinians working in Israel.

Ron Pundak, a member of an Israeli-Palestinian economic think tank, said suspending the tax transfers amounts to piracy by Israel. “We are not entitled to do it, it’s against all agreements,” said Pundak, who helped negotiate those interim agreements.

In the long run, withholding the funds could seriously weaken the Palestinian Authority and contribute to its collapse, he said. In such a case, Israel would once again have to assume the costly responsibility for the welfare of nearly 4 million Palestinians.

The Palestinian Authority pays the wages of some 150,000 civil servants and members of the security forces. This includes tens of thousands of beneficiaries in Gaza who were pushed out of their jobs after the Hamas takeover but continue to receive salaries.

An Israeli government official said the suspension was intended to deter Abbas from bypassing peace talks. Netanyahu has offered to resume negotiations, but Abbas insists Israel must first halt all construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, areas the Palestinians claim for their state. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005.

Source:

https://news.yahoo.com/palestinian-pm-israeli-sanctions-starting-bite-115549168.html

American Freedom Riders Against Israeli Apartheid

London, (Pal Telegraph) - Josh Ruebner views the parallels between the US Freedom Riders of the early 1960s and the current Palestinian Freedom Riders who have begun a non-violent campaign against the segregated transport systems and apartheid conditions endured by Palestinians under Israel’s brutal military occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Fifty years ago, Freedom Riders braved beatings and arson by supremacists intent on maintaining apartheid in the Jim Crow South. By challenging segregated transport through non-violent action, these African American and white activists set in motion a process that ultimately dismantled segregation. While the struggle for racial justice continues, at least this shameful chapter of formal racial discrimination is history.

“Freedom”, “Dignity”, “We Shall Overcome”

Reflecting on this anniversary, Member of the House of Representatives John Lewis, one of the main organizers of the Freedom Rides, noted that they “changed America. Before the movement … people were afraid… That fear is gone. People can walk, live, work and play with a sense of dignity and a sense of pride.”

“Fired by the same drive for dignity and pride [as the Freedom Riders], six Palestinian non-violent activists last week boarded an Israeli settler bus to draw the world’s attention to the segregated transport systems and apartheid conditions they endure under Israel’s brutal 44-year military occupation…”

Fired by the same drive for dignity and pride, six Palestinian non-violent activists last week boarded an Israeli settler bus to draw the world’s attention to the segregated transport systems and apartheid conditions they endure under Israel’s brutal 44-year military occupation of the Palestinian West Bank and East Jerusalem. Echoing Frederick Douglass, spokesperson Hurriyeh Ziadah said: “Our rights will not voluntarily be handed to us, so we are heading out to demand them.”

While attempting to ride from the occupied West Bank into occupied East Jerusalem, non-violently demanding their right to benefit from infrastructure created by Israel on their land, the Israeli military stopped the bus, physically removed and arrested the riders who held signs reading “Freedom”, “Dignity” and “We Shall Overcome”.

Apartheid infrastructure

For the benefit of 650,000 Israeli settlers living in Israel’s illegal settlements in these occupied Palestinian territories, Israel has constructed – in violation of international law – a vast, alternative infrastructure of roads and bus lines from which 2.5 million Palestinians are all but effectively banned. Palestinians are often confined to their village or town due to hundreds of temporary and permanent Israeli roadblocks, checkpoints, walls and other barriers that prevent them from exercising their right to freedom of movement. When Palestinians are allowed to travel by their Israeli occupiers, they must do so on circuitous, inferior roads to bypass Israeli settlement infrastructure, making even the most mundane trip a gruelling trek. Separate is never equal.

Looking back on his achievements since the Freedom Rides, Representative Lewis is not yet satisfied. “I would like to, before I leave this little piece of real estate, do a little more for the cause of peace. To end the violence here at home and violence abroad. We spend so much of our resources killing each other.”

US taxpayer-funded arms supplies

To do a lot more for the cause of peace, Rep. Lewis and his congressional colleagues should end US weapons transfers to Israel and redirect those resources to better uses at home. Between 2009 and 2018, the United States is scheduled to provide Israel with 30 billion dollars in taxpayer-funded weapons which will be used by Israel to perpetuate this apartheid system the Palestinian Freedom Riders are challenging.

“Between 2009 and 2018, the United States is scheduled to provide Israel with 30 billion dollars in taxpayer-funded weapons which will be used by Israel to perpetuate this apartheid system the Palestinian Freedom Riders are challenging.”

Not only do US weapons to Israel entrench its illegal military occupation of Palestinian territories, allow Israel to expand its illegal settlements, thwart efforts to establish a Palestinian state, and injure and kill Palestinian civilians on a horrific scale (according to the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, Israel killed nearly 3,000 unarmed Palestinians during the 2000s); they also deprive our communities of funds for unmet needs.

Of this 30 billion dollars, residents of Atlanta, many of whom are represented in Congress by Rep. Lewis, are expected to provide Israel with nearly 110 million dollars of their hard-earned money to finance US weapons for Israel. This same amount of money could fund instead each year more than 1,300 low-income Atlanta families with affordable housing vouchers, or provide more than 3,200 at-risk Atlanta school children with early reading programs.

Palestinian Freedom Riders are seeking their rights to be treated as equal human beings free to move about in their own land. They are not seeking the type of “charity” provided by US economic aid that often functions to entrench the very system of Israeli apartheid against which they are protesting. A 2010 report by the Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem found that one-third of roads funded and built by the US Agency for International Development reflect Israel’s priorities for constructing an inferior and segregated transport system for Palestinians.

If Rep. Lewis helped end the immorality of segregation in the United States, then half a century later he can also contribute to ending discrimination in Israel/Palestine by stopping US weapons transfers that sustain Israeli apartheid toward Palestinians.

Josh Ruebner is National Advocacy Director of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation and former Analyst in Middle East Affairs at the Congressional Research Service.

 

Source: https://www.paltelegraph.com/opinions/editorials/10424-american-freedom-riders-against-israeli-apartheid.html

 

A radical Jew repented

PALESTINE – Mikhail Chernovska was an Extremist Jew who had declared his Islam, as well as expressed his enthusiasm to see the establishment of the Khilafah Islamiyyah, with Al-Quds as its capital. “Indeed, I have received guidance. The reason is only one, because I wanted to find the truth,” Mikhail said. This was conveyed by the Harakatut Tauhid Al-Islamy website, Tuesday 8th November 2011.

Mikhail has Muhammad Al-Mahdi as his hijrah (migrated) name, similar to the name of an imam in the end times who was promised by Rasulullah SAW, who will bring justice by establishing Dienullah on earth. Mahdi is a Jew who came from Azerberijan and later migrated to Palestine after he embraced Islam.

Mahdi’s residence right now is in the West Bank city of Hebron. He was born in Baku, Azerbeijan 37 years ago. This man from Azerbeijan lived in the midst of an extreme family. He migrated to Israel in the early 90′s.

Hebron is the site of the massacre by a Jewish radical, Baruch Goldstein, in the cave of the ancestors. At that time, around 29 Muslims were affected from the massacre. Thus, in conformity with that, Mahdi decided to moved to the Kiryat Arba settlement, where he lived with his hero according to his view at that time, Goldstein, and joined the extremist settlers.

He added that a discussion on religion and philosophy with a Palestinian who owns a garage for car repairs in Hebron, made him review his view gradually, until he embraced Islam and return to Baku in order to marry a Muslimah. Mahdi told that he received a warm welcome from his neighbours in Hebron, although his blood is Jewish.

Muhammad Al-Mahdi told the AFP correspondent when visited at home, “I used to be an extremist settler and hostile to them, but they treat me like they are a brother to me and they always offer assistance.” The fact that points to Mahdi’s life in Kiryat Arba, is as if unimaginable, after he converted to Islam and married a Muslimah, Sabina, who now have given birth to 4 children after living with him. “The settlers attacked me several times, and threw stones at my house, and wrote slogans on the wall inviting me to leave the place,” said this 37-year old man.

He added, “wherever we go we are being abused, as my wife wears jilbab, and she is repeatedly questioned by the security forces, but all I care is that my kids today are Muslims, and following the religion that I have chosen.” He is very excited to see the Khilafah Islamiyyah established with Al-Quds as its capital.

He asserted: “I realized that there are many contradictions in the Jewish religion, and that Islam is a religion of wisdom and truth, I have received guidance because I was seeking for the truth, that’s the only cause of me becoming Muslim,” said Al-Mahdi, while acknowledging the kindness of his friend Zalloum, the garage owner, who had become the reason he received hidayah.

Zalloum admitted that from the beginning he knew Mikhail, what appeared in his perception was that Mikhail is a good person, unlike most of the settlers in Kiryat Arba. He often had a dialogue with Mikhail on issues of religion and philosophy, until one day he said to Mikhail: “If it’s not me who becomes a Jew through you, you’ll be the one who embraces Islam through me, after six months of discussion, finally he received the hidayah to embrace Islam,” revealed Zalloum.

Zalloum added: “It’s true that Mikhail has become Muhammad al-Mahdi, but he could not let go of all the Jewish culture, the Star of David Fusm on one of his hands would always remind him that he is a Jew, although he carries on the day with demonstrated achievements, from punctual obligatory prayers to reading Al-Qur’an.”

 

Source: https://www.thosepeoples.tk/2011/11/radical-jew-repented.html

Islamophobia of the West and historic perspective

Islamophobia is one of the overriding factors behind the policy of persecution and oppression of the Muslims by the US and its non-Muslim allies. Muslim-Christian antagonism dates back to the period of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who was blessed with prophet hood in 610AD.

In less than twenty years he transformed the savage Arab tribes into a civilized people. When Mecca was captured in 630AD and cleared of all the idols, he forgave all those who had persecuted and insulted him and forced him to migrate to Madina. Mecca became the cradle of a new civilization and fountain-head of a new culture. Infussed by his teachings, the Arab nomads brought about the greatest revolution in the annals of mankind. The Christians and Jews indulged in endless intrigues and conspired to undermine Islam and defame Holy Prophet. Reverence to the greatest benefactor of mankind among 1.5 billion Muslims spread all over the globe remains undiminished.

During the era of four Caliphs of Islam (632-661AD), the two mighty empires of Byzantine and Persia were dismantled. In the space of 100 years the Arab Muslim armies conquered an empire extending from the Pamirs in the east to the Atlantic coast of Morocco in the west, and northward into southern France. The Muslim Empire was a more civilized society than that of Christian Europe. Tolerance and justice exhibited by the Muslims towards other religions have been universally acknowledged. However, despite the benevolence of the Muslims, the Christians viewed the progression of Muslims as a threat to Christianity and nurtured innate grudge against them.

Spain was ruled by the Muslims from 714 till 1492 during which it attained world fame. Cordova was turned into a world ranking city of culture and education and became the centre of learning. The rulers showed tolerance towards Christians and Jews and were given complete liberty to build churches and synagogues. The glorious Muslim civilization in Iberian Peninsula dispelled the darkness that had enveloped Medieval Europe. Once the process of their decay set in, the Christian powers got united under the banner of Ferdinand and invaded Spain. Helped by disgruntled Muslim notables, Cordova was captured in 1236 and Seville in 1248. The capture of last stronghold of the Muslims at Grenada in 1492 made the Christians the masters of Spain and put an end to Andulusia civilization abruptly.

The Christians killed all the Muslims who refused to exile or convert to Christianity. A large number were converted by force while millions were banished. But even conversion to Christianity could not save them from the wrath of Spanish Christians. They were subsequently massacred. Although all traces of Muslim heritage, art and culture were obliterated after the ‘cross’ replaced the ‘crescent’ from the horizon of Spain, and the Moors themselves faded into dustbin of history, Spain and the western world stand forever in their debt. The Spanish Muslims left behind indelible marks on the Spanish culture, language, race and geography.

Although western and Hindu writers created a myth that Islam spread through the power of sword and have dried their pens describing the atrocities committed by Muslim rulers, slaughter committed by the crusaders have no parallel. Jerusalem was retaken in 1099 by Christian forces in a veritable bloodbath. All the 70,000 Muslims and Jews were slaughtered. When Caliph Omar took over Jerusalem in 7th century, he didn’t put a single person to sword.

Turning the pages of history about the Crusade wars, in their desperate bid to possess the holy land of Jerusalem, Palestine and Egypt from the Muslims, the Christian world instigated by religious priests launched series of ferocious Crusades from 1096 onwards. All told, eight Crusades were launched during the period of 1096-1271, in which the holy city exchanged hands several times. Never before the Christian world was so culturally united as it was on the occasion of first Crusade. Pope Urban II exhorted the Christians to make war upon the ‘wicked race’ that held the Holy Land.

The Crusaders apart from shedding rivers of blood of Muslims poisoned the minds of the west against the Muslims by deliberately representing teachings and ideals of Quran. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was described as anti-Christ and religion of Islam depicted as a fount of immorality and perversion. It was represented as a religion of crude sensualism and brutal violence. They kept sowing seeds of hatred and resultantly misperception about Islam and Prophet got permanently planted in the minds of Christians.

When Sultan Salahuddin Ayubi re-conquered Jerusalem in 1187, unlike the brutal ways of Christians, he spared all those who surrendered their arms. Women, children and old men were set free. When the combined armies of France, Germany and others tried to retake Jerusalem in 1189, they suffered a decisive defeat and were routed in 1192. The military defeat of the Crusaders left deep imprints of prejudice and hostility among the Christendom against Islam, the effects of which have persisted till today. The second phase of Crusades was undertaken by European nations in late 13th century. The Crusades which petered out in 17th century continue to shape global imagination of US leaders to this day. Deep-seated prejudice against Islam, found in western literature and in the minds of current generation is rooted in history of hate that took birth during Crusades.

Muslims were considered highly progressive in science and technology till 14th and 15th centuries. They had gained enviable prominence in several branches of science, especially medicine, chemistry, optics, mathematics, astronomy and philosophy. After the long rules of Ummayads (661-750) and Abbasids (750-1258), the Ottoman Empire (1290-1566) wielded considerable political and military strength and held sway in Europe, Asia and Africa. Its vast dominions included major parts of southeast Europe, West Asia and North Africa stretching from gates of Vienna to the wall of China in east; and from Ukraine in the north to the source of Nile in the south.

The great Empire started withering in 16th century due to over extension and lust for materialism. Apart from the Ottomans, another powerful Muslim Empire that emerged in 16th century was the Safavid Dynasty in Persia that reached its peak under Shah Abbas. It ruled with firmness for 200 years. Yet another dynamic and great Muslim empire in that period was that of the Moghuls in Indian subcontinent (1526-1858) which remained at the pinnacle of its glory till 1707.

Europe was in darkness till the Renaissance in France. It had passed through orthodoxy, intolerance and irrationalism under the influence of popes and cardinals of that time. The west became civilized after annihilating eight-century old Andulusia civilization. From middle of 15th century, Europe got engulfed in commercial revolution. Spain, Portugal, Holland, France and England embarked upon exploring overseas markets in the east. By early 16th century, the European economy had expanded manifold and gave rise to capitalism. By 1600, Western Europe had gone through cultural transformation and by 1800 it had reached a stage whereby it could dominate the world in general and Islamic world in particular. Europe and North America became economically prosperous and militarily stronger than the rest of the world as a result of industrial revolution.

Europe started making speedy scientific and technological progress from middle of 18th century. The overseas colonial expansion by the European nations which had waned a little recommenced after 1870 under the title of ‘new imperialism. Industrial revolution in Europe heightened the need for raw material and cheap labor. Great powers jostled for additional colonial territories in Middle East, Africa, Asia and Pacific Basin rich in minerals and raw materials. Moral justification propounded by the colonizers to annex economically self-sufficient Muslim states was to enlighten the uncouth in Asia and Africa and to usher in progress and civilization. Forced evolution of Muslim societies was justified under the phrase of ‘white man’s burden’. By end of 19th century, the Europeans had most of Africa and much of Asia. Britain held the largest empire and its navy was unchallenged in any ocean of the world.

Economic prosperity of European powers also witnessed growth of antagonism between Christian powers vying to gain supremacy. Heightened rivalry between European powers ultimately led to First World War (1914-1918). Consequent to 2nd world war in which Germany under Adolph Hitler had embarked upon an ambitious plan to make Germany the most powerful nation of the world, the British Empire on which the sun had never set got exhausted economically and was no more in a position to administer its colonies effectively. Similar was the case with other colonial powers. In the wake of commencement of freedom movements, Britain decided to free its colonies and withdraw east of Suez. Britain convinced the newly emerged super power USA to fill up the power vacuum to checkmate the other super power Soviet Union and to subsequently neo-colonize its liberated colonies. Arab states in North Africa got freedom from France as late as 1960s.

Throughout its little less than 100 years rule, Britain went all out to shatter the spiritual and cultural heritage of the Indian Muslims. Before partition of colonized India in August 1947 by the British, Governor of United Provinces William Moore wrote a book on Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in which he wrote negatively about the Prophet. He said, ‘Two things are the worst enemies of humanity; Prophet Muhammad’s Quran and his sword’. Britain gave a parting kick to Muslims by dividing India unjustly. It penalized Muslim Pakistan and favored Hindu India. Unresolved Kashmir dispute is the British legacy left behind which has bedeviled Indo-Pak relations. Ever since India and Pakistan have become independent, Britain has always sided with India and harmed Pakistan’s interests.

From early 1950s, the US embarked upon a multifaceted program to contain communism and weaken Soviet Union. Matching nuclear and conventional power of USSR restrained USA from making headlong confrontation and restricted itself to cold war. It had to ultimately seek assistance of Muslims to defeat its arch enemy. In the Afghan war in the 1980s not a single non-Muslim soldier took part. The US and western world glorified Mujahideen. Till the downfall of USSR in 1989, communism was regarded as the biggest threat to western ideology and capitalism.

Once the cold war ended and the US emerged as a sole super power, the neo-cons in USA and in western countries started a whispering campaign portraying Islam as the chief threat to Christian world. They advocated confronting the new threat with all available means. It was in line with this propaganda campaign that Samuel Huntington came out with his book ‘Clash of Civilizations’ in 1996, which set in motion plan for 9/11. Academics and think tanks sprung into action to promote the theme. Plans were made as early as 1997 to invade Afghanistan where Jihadis from all over the Muslim world had assembled to fight the evil empire of USSR and had not returned to their respective countries. Religious seminaries established in FATA region and funded by CIA to train students as Jihadis had also multiplied.

Jihad in Afghanistan had encouraged Muslim freedom fighters in Indian occupied Kashmir, Chechnya, Uzbekistan and elsewhere to wage liberation movements. The neo-cons not only desired annihilation of the main base of Jihad in Afghanistan but also the Jihadi producing seminaries in FATA. Invasion of Afghanistan and converting it into a permanent military base became all the more vital when Taliban succeeded in controlling social vices in Afghan society by introducing Sharia, and Pakistan aligned with Taliban turned nuclear. Iran had already slipped out of US hands. It was feared that unless proactive measures were taken, an Islamic bloc of Pakistan-Iran-Afghanistan may come into being. Denuclearization and secularization of Pakistan were listed as priority objectives.

The hidden hands of neo-cons and Jewish lobby prevailed upon the US Supreme Court to declare George W. Bush a winner in November 2000 elections despite that he had lost to Al Gore. 9/11 gave President Bush a readymade excuse to play havoc with the Muslims under the garb of global terrorism. After the attacks on World Trade Centre and Pentagon, Bush gave a policy statement, ‘We are starting a long-drawn-out Crusade’. On another occasion he said, ‘We will dry up ponds (Madaris) which produce mosquitoes (Islamic Ulemas). Vice President Dick Cheney viewed Muslim world as ‘brute and nasty’.

After such pronouncements, the militarily strongest and economically richest countries of the world pounced upon Afghanistan, one of the poorest countries of the world which had no connection with 9/11 and trampled it with their military boots. An orchestrated propaganda war was unleashed in USA and whole of Europe. Rupert Murdock managing Fox TV channel led the propaganda assault against Islam, coloring the perceptions of the west with many false impressions about Islam. CNN, ABC, BBC and western print media also chipped in. Jihadis of 1980s eulogized as Mujahideen and holy warriors were converted into terrorists. Small and unknown al-Qaeda outfit under Osama bin Laden created by CIA to fight the Soviet forces in Afghanistan was depicted as a global threat.

The mass media propelled by the US neo-cons constantly poisoned the minds of the west. Public thinking and perceptions about Muslims were thickly colored by portraying them as terrorists and Islam defined as a terrorism breeding religion. To further harm Islam, the western media further accentuated the British inspired concept of categorizing Islam into two categories as radical and moderate, and Muslims were treated accordingly. A notion was implanted that terrorism was exclusively confined to Muslim Arabs and non-Arab Muslims. The propagandists put aside left-wing and right-wing terrorists and international terrorists present among all religions and atheist world. All guns were trained on radical Muslims and non-Muslim radicals were spared.

Soon after annexation of Afghanistan, McCain, Lieberman and John Kyl lobbied for Saddam Hussein’s removal at the behest of Israel. Paul Wolfowitz, another Zionist insider was also a proponent of Iraq invasion. Fictitious stories to justify invasion of Iraq included WMDs, ties with al-Qaeda, Iraqi bio weapons laboratories, and purchase of yellow cake uranium from Niger. Saddam was declared a danger to humanity and Iraq was unjustly invaded. After destroying a modern and progressive country which was not involved in 9/11, and had done no harm to USA, Saddam was sent to the gallows.

It has now been established that 9/11 was engineered essentially to neo-colonize the Muslim world and capture its resources so as to pre-empt future danger from Islam, which the sole super power considers to be the only potent threat that could thwart its ambitions to gain total global monopoly. Many Americans contend that it was an in-house affair.

Even if 9/11 was not an in-house affair, the act was performed by few individuals who could have been brainwashed. Mind control techniques are in use of CIA for over six decades. What was so difficult for the CIA to control the minds of 19 Arabs for the implementation of neo-cons-Jewish agenda against Islam? Under no hypothesis it can be said that the suicidal acts were Islam inspired or supported by Muslims.

Military interventions against Muslim countries were justified under the veneer of morality by using false phrases of freedom, liberty, democracy, women emancipation and human rights. Muslims were persecuted on the plea of homeland security of USA. Different set of phrases were used for the two annexed countries.

Pamphlets were circulated projecting Quran as a book of terrorism. Few years ago a translation in English of Quran was published, which was subsequently translated in ancient Ubrani language. Under the title ‘Quran the ultimate truth’, thirty objections were raised which were widely circulated through media. An effort was made to prove that Quran was not a divine book but authored by Prophet Muhammad. Highly insulting language was used in respect of Holy Prophet. At one place it is written, ‘Quran is full of contradictions; hence it cannot be a book sent by God. Rather, it is a creation of a person suffering from delusion and dejection, or else few persons have collectively compiled it’.

In order to prove their contention that Quran is not a heavenly book, they challenged one of the injunctions of Quran saying ‘If you have doubts about its veracity, produce one Surah’ matching its quality. Four Surahs were produced by the challengers. Such wicked attempts to malign Quran were off and on made by non-Muslims, but after 9/11, Quran was targeted with a vengeance. For centuries the Jews and Christian zealots have been trying to prove that Quran is not a divine but have failed. As against all other heavenly books, Quran is the only Holy Scripture in which not a word or even comma has been modified, added or subtracted and remains unchanged because God had promised to protect it.

Vatican Pope played a negative role in undermining Islam. He has ignored prolonged caricature campaign in newspapers and on internet in some western countries to malign the image of revered Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), injuring the sentiments of 1.5 billion Muslims.

Nonie Darwish a converter to Christianity and Frank Gaffney are among the leading Islamophobes in USA. Darwish presents Islam as cruel, intolerant and anti-women. In her view, mosques and schools in Arab world teach the children virtues of Jihad and instigate them to resort to violence against non-believers. Both are inflaming hysteria against Islam. Islam-haters forget that the west is the originator of terrorism and is Muslim focused.

Hatred of non-Muslims against Quran and Islam has risen to such an extent that rulers of advanced countries are pressing the Muslim rulers to modify Quran by way of deleting verses pertaining to Jihad and Qital. They are demanding closure of Madaris or as a minimum changing their teaching syllabus since in their view these institutions are fomenting terrorism against the west. While image of Madaris and the ones running them are being smeared, no mention is made of ‘mind control techniques’ being employed by CIA.

54 out of 57 Muslim states have been made secular and efforts are in hand to secularize the rest as well. Most Muslim rulers are pawns of USA who accept its discriminatory and anti-Islamic policies. Practicing Muslims in Muslim countries and residing abroad are being brutally persecuted while those who know little of their religion and have adopted western culture are treated as transitory friends best-suited to defame Islam.

The US wants to impose western brand of democracy and civilization upon the Muslim world. It wants puppets and not upright and popular Muslim leaders. Having learnt bitter lessons from Algeria’s fair and free elections in early 1990s and Palestinian elections in 2003 in which Islamists were elected, it encourages use of fraudulent means to ensure election of compliant rulers. In case of Pakistan the US was instrumental in brokering a secret deal between Gen Musharraf and late Benazir and later on in the issuance of hated NRO which enabled USA to micro-manage Pakistan affairs and brought it to such a sorry state.

Islamophobia in actuality is an irrational fear of Islam and is an effort to save socially decaying western civilization. It is ironic that the age-old western resentment against Islam should still persist subconsciously at a time when religion has lost most of its hold on the imaginations of the people of the west. The shadow of Crusades hovers over the west to this day. A recent example of this inbuilt hatred was seen in Florida where a bigoted pastor Terry Jones burnt copies of Quran and is unrepentant on his shameful act. Without having read the Quran, he maintains that Quran encourages terrorism against Christians and poses a threat to USA and western world. Such self created lurking fears of extremist Christians together with their economic ambitions have upped the level of their hatred against Muslims to such heights that their thirst to suck the blood of Muslims has become unquenchable.

While Afghanistan and Iraq have been ruthlessly destroyed and close to two million people massacred, Pakistan is being continuously bled and economically ruined despite that it is an ally. Propaganda war as well as physical war against Muslims under Barack Obama has not scaled down even a wee bit. Sudan has been divided and Libya is now targeted and soon there will be a regime change and a US puppet installed. Sooner than later, Syria will be under fire. Yemen is fast cracking up from within and several other Arab states in turmoil are providing opportunities to USA to intervene. Military interventions and slaughter of Muslims are solely aimed at neo-colonizing Muslim world, capturing their natural resources and giving a deathblow to Islam.

The US supported by western allies, Israel, India and Russia are all engaged in killing Muslims on the pretext that extremist Muslims are all terrorists and pose a danger to world peace. The UN supposed to follow even handed policies is highly biased and is anti-Muslim. While it promptly points finger at Muslim countries and unhesitatingly approves economic sanctions and military actions, it ignores high handed policies and human rights violations of USA, Israel and India. It is rightly dubbed as the mistress of USA since it has all along served non-Muslims vested interests.

Sensing that the roots of Islam are being systematically weakened with the help of their pawns within Muslim countries, the Islamists dubbed as terrorists are confronting anti-Islamic forces with whatever primitive means available and are getting bled profusely. Muslim blood will continue to be spilled by non-Muslim powers as long as Mir Jaffars, Mir Sadiqs, AlQami and Toosi are present within Muslim ranks and string-puppet rulers dancing to the tunes of Washington sit in corridors of powers. No foreign conspiracy, covert war or physical intervention can succeed without their support.

 

Source: https://www.thosepeoples.tk/2011/11/islamophobia-of-west-and-historic.html

How did Israel get its stranglehold on the entire world?

The revelation this week of what some world leaders think of Netanyahu was not a surprise to most of us. What remains a mystery, however, is why do these same world leaders kiss up to Israel and support them financially and militarily? From Haaretz

… The Anti-Defamation League said it was “deeply disappointed” by the private exchange between French President Nicholas Sarkozy and U.S. President Barack Obama in which the two leaders were overheard making critical remarks about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

I too was deeply disappointed that the exchange was ‘off the record’ and not part of a global condemnation of Israel’s leadership and their policies.But the question remains, how did Israel get its stranglehold on the entire world? One reader suggested in a comment yesterday that; I think that Israel blackmails nations - that if nations do not do its bidding, they threaten another 911, or something similar. Once I heard Dennis Kucinich say that paying billions a year to Israel is the necessary price we pay for keeping them from lighting the match. It is high time that the politicians come out in public - perhaps today’s EAS test would have been a good time to do it - and spill the beans to the world. If we all knew what Israel holds over us, Israel would NOT be able to get away with what it does. Our leaders need to stop being cowards and stand up to the bully.

And cowards they are! Are they that afraid of the ‘anti Semite Card’ that would be flashed at any condemnation of Israel? Are they that afraid that their support would dwindle if groups like AIPAC pulled the plug? WHAT IS IT???

Israel has ignored every resolution the United Nations has ever passed regarding their policies. UN Reports are eventually changed or rewritten as was the case with Goldstone. Yet, the United States continues to back every illegal move that Israel makes. WHY???

Just what does the image above mean? Can we pander to the Israel Lobby? According to Wikipedia; Pandering is the act of expressing one’s views in accordance with the likes of a group to which one is attempting to appeal. The term is most notably associated with politics. In pandering, the views one is verbally expressing are merely for the purpose of drawing support up to and including votes and do not necessarily reflect one’s personal values.Pandering is essentially a reaction of panic in elected officials who must either tailor their views to public opinion or risk losing their existing or potential seat. Politicians running for office are known to pander because their winning depends on the voters. When an election is upcoming, many straw polls are taken, and the results may change by the day or even by the hour. A politician by pandering is attempting to tilt the results in his/her favor.

Is it not time for the United States and other nations to start pandering to their own citizens and not allow Israel to dictate its polices on them? The time is almost 64 years overdue …. LET’S DO IT!